The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has lifted the speed limit and right-lane-only commercial vehicle restrictions that were in place on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County.

PennDOT is urging motorists to avoid unnecessary travel but those who must head out will see speeds reduced to 45 mph on the following highways:

• Interstate 80 in Carbon and Monroe counties;
• Interstate 380 in Monroe County.

 
Commercial vehicles must stay in the right lane while the speed restrictions are in place on these roads.

The purpose of the restrictions is to help ensure the interstates remain open during the most challenging conditions of the winter storm. When conditions improve, PennDOT will remove the travel restrictions.

While PennDOT recommends not traveling during winter storms, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts. 

PennDOT reminds motorists to pack an emergency kit for their vehicles. A basic kit should include non-perishable food, water, blanket, small shovel and warm clothes. When preparing an emergency kit, motorists should take into account special needs of passengers such as baby food, pet supplies or medications and pack accordingly. 

More information about how to prepare for any type of emergency, including free downloadable checklists of items to keep in your home, car, and at work, and specific information for people with access and functional needs or pets, is available on the Ready PA webpage. 

For more winter driving tips and information on how PennDOT treats winter storms, visit www.PennDOT.pa.gov/winter.  

Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties at www.penndot.gov/District5. 

Follow regional PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAAllentown, and like the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaDepartmentofTransportation and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot. 
 
MEDIA CONTACTS: Ronald J. Young, Jr., M.P.A., 610-871-4555, ronyoung@pa.gov, Sean Brown, 610-871-4556, sebrown@pa.gov
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